Radio Blunders & Sunny Weather

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Well?

Did any of you catch the shenanigans on Radio Scotland today? If not you can listen in again here. Essentially Theo Pike was being interviewed about his book about urban rivers and they asked your truly to fish the Kelvin with there outside reporter Richard Cadey.

The Hi Tech Gear of the BBC!

Anyway, go and listen to it if you have not already – you may have to fast forward to the fishing banter – my major blunder was stating that the River Clyde Fisheries Management Trust did a lot of good work for the river in terms of environmental stuff – what I in fact wanted to say was that the Clyde River Foundation does all the hard work. What made it all the more embarrassing is the fact I phoned Willie Yeomans for a bit of moral support as he is a man that talks a lot (I mean sometimes you cannot get this guy to stop) and I still managed to fanny it up – ah well.

You know, something actually annoyed me in the Vet School today, at least 4 people (two security guards, one gardener and on guy who said he did some “work” in the Vet School) told me that I could not fish on the bank we were standing on. Now this is all very reasonable however as I looked about at the dog walkers with their dogs off the leads even though the rule is that dogs stay on the lead and the areas where fires have been started and the fact that last year the security would not phone the police or move on the guy that threatened me one night I wondered whether there was a smidgen of selective security enforcement going on – maybe next time I should take a big dog, sit with my top off and drink a bottle of buckfast with some mates. Oh the joys of urban fishing – only the law abiding sensible folk actually obey laws – the rest just do whatever they want.

Anyway….

After the show I was left on my todd so went for a wander about the river for a fish – I wandered right down the river and as usual it was around 2pm that the wee boats that are Large Dark Olives started sailing down – not many trout responding in the faster water however in some of the slower water I found eager trout slurping them down with gusto..

Slow water, like glass....

Of course the trout would be rising in the slowest possible spots where the water was like glass, as I slipped into the water, ripples were sent out across the water and spooked them – it took a further half hour of standing in cold water stork like before they started to get brave again, I roll cast my fly under branches several times before my drift was just prefect and I was rewarded with a nice fat Kelvin trout…

It has spots !

The water was icy cold and a lovely height – that height of water that is not low, not high but just flowing and full. A perfect height and also dare I say smell – it had that tangy vegetable smell off it today – that smell that gives it the name “Smelly Kelly” you must know what I mean if you have ever fished the river – it is a summer smell, not pleasant yet not unpleasant – a thick, vegetable decomposing (not rotting) smell that really fills our nostrils.

I can honestly say there is no other smell like it – I kinda like the funky Kelvin smell – it feels homely!

I fished spotting the odd riser and covering it a few times before moving on – my heart was not really in it as I reckoned we had a bit of east wind action going down – the wind was heading downstream which made properly accurate with presentation was a tad difficult – not impossible but difficult – you would cast perfectly at tongue of water with a rising trout and a gust of wind would take it a foot to the left and the leader would double up at the last minute – annoying.

Even though it was bright sunshine and hot it was still an ice cold wind.

I fished on and then came across what I can only describe as a weird bothy/den built out of fallen branches and blag plastic bags – it freaked me out.

Does someone live here?

To be fair I have came across a few of these bothies in my time, I suspect it is local youths looking for a dry place to smoke cannabis or drink alcohol – it certainly is not a sexy love nest as it looks a bit more rugged – I did not see the usual booze bottles littering the place.

I fished on for a bit and missed a few more fish before calling it a day at 3pm as I had to pick the boy up at nursery.

It’s a small world Alistair, I know Richard Cady, our wives used to work together. He is a good laugh to have a beer with, but about the last person you could imagine fishing on the Kelvin!

I have also found that the fish have only been active in the slower water. I’ve had no luck fishing normally quite productive faster water so far this season. All the fish I have caught have been from relatively slow stretches. I wonder why that is?

At this time of year I do not think the trout are fit enough after spawning to maintain themselves in the faster water, it is only after a good month or so of some serious spring munching do they start moving up to the faster water !

I heard that our freaky weather is soon to be replaced by proper mild and miserable weather – at least the trout should start responding properly!

I assume “trout should start responding properly” means that they will go into hiding and get much harder to catch!
I have been enjoying the ravenous aspect to their behaviour the last couple of weeks, as they have been taking my dry fly despite dismally poor presentation!

[…] BBC Radio Scotland called me in for an interview with Fred MacAulay, sharing a slot with Alistair Stewart live from the Kelvin. It’s possible I’ll be trying to repeat his performance with one of Radio 4’s presenters on […]